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The easy thing to do is blame Sam Ficken. That's why so many Penn State players and coaches, from Bill O'Brien to Matt McGloin, from John Urschel to Matt Stankiewitch to Stephon Morris, urged anyone who would listen not to do it.

But with all due respect to the Nittany Lions' young kicker, when was the last time anyone saw a player have quite as bad a day as he had Saturday? When was the last time you saw a kicker miss four field goals - all makeable, but all badly? When was the last time you saw a kicker miss four field goals, then go out and get an extra point blocked in the fourth quarter? When was the last time you saw a kicker leave 13 points on the field in a game his team would end up losing 17-16? Never mind in a college game. When was the last time you saw something like that in a high school game?

But that's what happened on a humid Saturday at Scott Stadium. That's what happened to a team that improved markedly on defense, to the point where it forced four turnovers. That's what happened to a team that, offensively, gave its team a shot to win, punching in a touchdown to take the lead early in the fourth quarter and driving down the field late - with 1:28 to go, one timeout and 73 yards between them and the end zone - to put Ficken in range to kick a game winner.

And he pushed that one wide left from 42 yards out, in the middle of the field, as time expired.

There's no telling where Ficken's day ranks among the worst ever in college football. But the last time a kicker missed four field goals in a game against Virginia, Lyndon B. Johnson was the president (1964).

But one by one, with a chance to raise their hands, tell the media that there's nothing they can do when the game is repeatedly on the kicker's toe, that the monkey would have been on their back had it not been for one player, they stood behind Ficken like a little brother being chased by the schoolyard bully.

"There's nothing you can really say," McGloin said. "It wasn't what won or lost us the game. A couple plays here or there is what lost us the game.

"Sam did not lose us the game whatsoever."

Guard John Urschel reiterated McGloin's comments.

"I guess what I'm trying to say to explain it is, this loss is not on him. It's on us, as a team," Urschel said. "And I really hope all the fans and the outside world understand that. We win as a team. We lose as a team. And this certainly isn't on him."

You have to admire how this team sticks together, through much worse than a few missed field goals and a heart-wrenching loss that might have gotten the world off its back had any one of those four missed field goals went through the uprights instead of to the right or left.

But here's the thing: For as much progress as Penn State showed defensively Saturday, and for as much promise as they've shown from time to time as an offense, this team isn't going anywhere unless the special teams improve.

And they have a long way to go before they can be considered acceptable.

Sure, the Nittany Lions need to get better in the red zone offensively. They had five red zone opportunities and scored just one touchdown.

Sure, they need to get off the field on defense when they have the opponent backed up desperately. Michael Rocco's 44-yard completion down the middle of the field to tight end Jake McGee was the key play on the game-winning drive for the Cavaliers, and it came on third and 16.

But the difference between good teams and bad ones is that good teams lament the things they need to clean up after wins.

Special teams has forced Penn State to lament them after losses.

If Ficken hits any of those field goals he missed, Penn State wins. If he converts the extra point that he drove so low that it struck Virginia linebacker Henry Coley in the hand, the Nittany Lions at least have a chance to win in overtime.

It wasn't just Ficken, to be fair. Long snapper Emery Etter's snap back to holder Ryan Keiser wasn't a great one. And punter Alex Butterworth had two lousy punts before a 52 yarder got up in the wind and saved his average.

Penn State returned two punts for a grand total of four yards.

That's special teams. But it's far from special. In fact, it's detrimental to the team right now as it moves forward.

Why is this such a big deal? Here's a cold reality: Penn State doesn't know what the future holds. Sure, if they manage to get some of the recruits at the quarterback and tight end positions that coach Bill O'Brien has gotten commitments from so far, it may be brighter than you'd expect considering the sanctions. But this is still a team with experience and guile, with talent and leadership, and it very well could be the team that sets the tone for the rest of the next decade.

Nobody's saying O'Brien shouldn't be given some time to turn this around.

He deserves that. This is a rebuilding project, and it won't be a quick one.

Still, Penn State hasn't lost two games because of the sanctions, by any means. It has lost its first two games because it isn't executing. There are few other excuses beyond that. This is a team getting incrementally better with a complicated offense. But it's also a team that can very easily be 2-0 if it makes one or two plays.

Or, in Saturday's case, if it makes one or two kicks.

Blame Silas Redd for not being around to bail out a running game beset by injuries. Blame Justin Brown for going to Oklahoma when the Nittany Lions could really use him on the return teams now. Even better, blame the steady Anthony Fera for bolting town and leaving the kicking duties to Ficken, an inexperienced sophomore obviously rocked by the moment.

But at some point, everyone has to stop blaming those who aren't around and looking at the ones who are. If nothing else, they have shown they're still plenty good enough to win games these first two weeks. They're also heading into late September without a win on their record.

"It pretty much is what it was," O'Brien said. "We've just got to go back to work on Monday. These kids left it all out there today, there's no question about that. We'll break through. We'll break through."

It's easy to blame a myriad of problems off the field for a bad start.

But it's more accurate to blame Sam Ficken, to blame the players not getting things done when it matters most. The story Saturday should revolve around executing. Not excuses.

DONNIE COLLINS covers Penn State football for The Sunday Times. Contact him at dcollins@timesshamrock.com, read his blog at http://blogs.thetimes-tribune.com/pennstate/, or follow him on Twitter @psubst

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